Tommy Potter
by alisonlynn
Summary: Harry tries a spell to take all the evil from Voldemort, instead of killing him. It doesn't go quite as planned, and Harry ends up having to raise the baby version of his worst enemy. Won't this be fun?
1. Overview

A/N- Ok, this will actually have a story at some point in time. This little summary is just so I don't forget my idea while working on No Longer. Hope you like the plot!

Well, it all started with Harry being reluctant to kill the Dark Lord, so he and his friends combed the library looking for alternatives. Naturally, it was Hermione who found the spell to leech all the evil from a person's body.

Harry performed it on Voldemort, and was very surprised that instead of getting a very remorseful man, he got a baby with black hair who was terrified of the spells and curses being cast around it.

Of course, Harry was pretty upset about this. He thought he'd have to kill a helpless child. But Dumbledore said, "Oh, no, you can just raise him to be good, and everything'll be fine and dandy."

And that's how Lord Voldemort came to call Harry Potter 'Dad'.


	2. Chapter 1: Curses, All Forms of the Word

A/N- Alright, I hadn't intended to start this until No Longer was finished, but then I got impatient. So don't let me abandon that, ok? Read on!

"I don't wanna kill anyone, I don't wanna kill anyone, I don't wanna kill anyone, I don't wanna kill anyone, I don't wanna kill anyone," Harry muttered, rocking back and forth on his bed.

The summer had been tough, but he'd been grateful. So what if he'd nearly starved? So what if his eyes were dark and crazed from lack of sleep? So what if his body was exhausted and miserable from his never-ending chores? He'd been busy the entire time, and had hardly never thought about Sirius and the prophecy.

But now school was nearing, and it was coming down on him again. Sirius was gone. Soon he'd join him, or send someone else to do it instead.

Death was coming.

And Harry didn't want any more death.

A few minutes of self-indulgent hysterics later, Harry calmed down. He couldn't break down like that, not anymore. It wouldn't help. And everything in his life would have to be focused on one purpose from now on, as Dumbledore had been sure to impress upon him.

So what to do? He didn't want to kill, but dying himself didn't exactly sound fun, and it would destroy the wizarding world if Voldemort won.

Harry lost a few minutes to hyperventilating, before deciding to leave thinking about this until after school started and Hermione could help him.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

It was the first morning of school. This year, September first was on a Friday, so they had the next two days all to themselves. Harry whispered a strained message to his friends during breakfast, and they exchanged worried glances.

The three met in the Room of Requirement. Harry needed a room to tell them everything. A room they could all be comfortable in. A room with no Voldemort or death. The door appeared, and Harry pulled it open, led Ron and Hermione inside, and used all the silencing and locking spells he knew on the room.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, concerned.

Harry took a deep breath. In. Out. "Well, guys, there's something, I mean, Dumbledore told me something after, well…" Another deep breath. "There's a prophecy."

Hermione gasped. She obviously got the implications.

"What was it about?" Ron whispered.

"Me and Voldemort." Both Ron and Hermione flinched. Whether it was from the name or the sentence, Harry didn't know.

In. Out. "It said I was the only one who could kill him. It said I had to, or he had to kill me."

Hermione rushed over to hug him, her mind processing this much faster than Ron's. She took in both the way he seemed scared out of his wits and how he stood and his words, and got horror. She was scared too.

"Wait, you mean…it's up to you?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded.

Ron seemed to want to follow Hermione's lead, but just took a quick step over to stand beside his friend and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, to show support.

"Guys, I don't want to kill anyone!" Harry cried, looking at them with that part insane desperation he'd perfected over the summer.

"But it's You-Know-Who," Ron said, confused.

"Ron!" Hermione started, "He's evil, but it's only natural for Harry not to want to kill him! If he wanted to, he'd be no better than…Voldemort to begin with!"

Ron winced. "Ok, ok. Well mate, we'll be here for you. Um…" He seemed to have no idea how to go about comforting Harry.

"Isn't there some other way? Like, to make him sleep forever, or trap him somewhere he can never escape from, or something?" Harry cried.

Hermione straightened. This was academic. This called for a trip to the library. This was a _challenge. _

And then she ran for her favorite part of the castle, leaving Ron to cheer up a distraught Harry.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

It took a few months, but by the time Christmas was approaching, Hermione had an idea. There was a spell she'd found that wasn't supposed to do exactly what they needed, but she thought she could modify it to take all the evil out of a person.

The original spell was a dark spell, one she'd found deep in the restricted section, in a part she thought would probably be more than restricted if Dumbledore knew it was there. It was a curse, one often used long ago, when a pureblood family had a girl as their firstborn. She thought it was horrible, but they'd steal all of her magic and send her into the muggle world.

Probably why there were so many muggleborns.

Hermione ran to find Harry and Ron, lost in her excitement. "Ron! Harry! I found it!"

The two looked up from their game of wizards chess. Ron was teaching Harry now, so while he still always lost, it wasn't quite as spectacular as before, and could still be fun for them both. They'd also all been learning borderline dark curses and strong defensive spells.

"What'd you find?" Harry asked, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he glanced back at the board, thinking hard.

He'd cheered up a bit after the conversation in the Room of Requirement, then sunk into a depression over Sirius. Now, his mourning was starting to be a bit more healthy, in Hermione's opinion.

"If this spell works, you won't have to kill anyone," Hermione announced, cheeks flushed with victory and breathing hard from her sprint.

Harry's face seemed to fall into a strange combination of horror at being reminded and elation at the thought.

"Well, it's not precisely what we're looking for, but the changes should fix it, and I'm pretty sure I can modify it, and almost positive you can cast it, it should be fairly simple, actually, and-"

"What does it do?" Ron interrupted.

"It'll search his body for dark magic, or evil, and destroy it."

"He'll…he won't be evil anymore?" Harry asked, a funny look on his face.

"Yeah, I know it's strange to think about, him being good, but it's better than killing him," Hermione agreed.

Harry grimaced, then nodded, eyes like green steel. "Thanks Hermione. This'll be great."

"I'll start modifying it right now," she promised.

And within two weeks, it was ready.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Voldemort, however, wasn't. He hadn't tried to draw Harry out, and the usual battle didn't happen.

The school year ended.

Harry returned to the Dursleys in an awful mood. He finally had a good way to defeat Voldemort, and no opportunity to do so.

Harry could now cast the spell perfectly, as well as erect strong barriers that would hold all the curses and spells Ron and Hermione could send at him, as well as the ones Dumbledore poured all his power in. They wouldn't stop any Unforgivables, but were as strong as possible.

The spell had been cast on a few of Hagrid's creatures, and now there were a surprising number of monsters after Voldemort and his followers. There was also a Ravenclaw first year who'd walked in on one of their training sessions and was…well…a tiny saint.

On the first day of Harry's seventh year, he got his chance.

Voldemort struck Hogsmeade. All the Sixth and Seventh years, as well as the majority of the teachers, rushed to help.

The Ravenclaw, now a Second year, lassoed all the younger students into helping Madame Pomfrey ready the infirmary for the impending injuries.

Harry pushed through the battle to find Voldemort. His heart was pounding, but he was actually confident. He had a plan. He would win.

People fell all around him. Flitwick collapsed, Kingsley fell with a scream, a bright green light hit a Hufflepuff who jumped in front of her friend in the chest.

Harry ran faster.

Voldemort loomed ahead. His red eyes were bright, bearing triumphant. Not for long.

Harry set up his shields, and kept running.

Voldemort saw him, and his lips twisted into a cruel smile. He raised his wand and fired.

Harry ducked when he saw it was green, and raised his own wand.

The first spell missed him, his shields blocked the second. His own spell couldn't be cast inside the barriers, so he let them down for a moment, and fired.

A few cutting hexes hit him, and a spell that made him double up in pain.

But his own spell connected.

The nearest people paused, shocked. They were sure he was dead, as the curse-light had been green. The Death Eaters fled, and the soldiers for the light quickly turned to the fallen.

Harry stood straighter, shoulders squared. He walked proudly over to the pile of robes, wondering vaguely what he was going to find.

When he pulled the first fold away, he found that there was something still in there. He hadn't been sure why the spell had made Voldemort disappear, but assumed he was just evil to the core and had been eaten by the spell.

But there was something in there.

The second fold revealed what it was.

A small face, pale and bloody, with a cut across the cheek, stared up at him, dark blue eyes scrunched up, lip trembling.

Well, bad word.

This wasn't supposed to happen.


	3. Chapter 2: Dumbles and Gin

A/N- Yeah, yeah, I only just updated. But I finished my Creative Writing assignment and was still in a writing mood, then I got so excited I just had to post it. Enjoy!

Oh, and I own nothing but a pencil and a jumbo bag of Skittles. So please don't sue me. You can have the pencil, but the Skittles are MINE! Mine I tell you, MINE!

No one else noticed the little predicament, so Harry did the only thing he could think of: he picked up the baby, wrapped him warmly in his too big robes, and went to find Dumbledore.

The baby whimpered, scared of all the people, but didn't cry. He just buried himself deeply in Harry's robes and his own, as if hoping to hide, and turned his face into Harry's chest.

Harry grimaced.

TRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTR

Dumbledore was in the Hospital Wing, waiting for Madame Pomfrey to finish with the more severely injured wizards. Harry stood by the bottom of his bed, still holding the tiny bundle.

He was astonished by the damage the single cutting hex had managed to do to the Headmaster's face. The crooked nose was gone, leaving a bloody hole. His cheeks were red and puffy with scar tissue. One eye probably couldn't be saved. Harry quickly laid the baby on the bed beside Dumbledore, not letting it out of his sight, even though it was small enough it probably couldn't go anywhere. It looked almost newborn.

He whipped out his wand and started quickly healing all the wounds he could. The man was pretty healthy, except for the face, but his beard was gone.

Harry could do little for the nose but numb it and freeze it so Madame Pomfrey could regrow it later. The cuts were relatively simple, but they'd always leave scars. He couldn't do anything for the eye, but he numbed that too.

Once he'd done all he could, he woke the Professor.

"Harry?" Dumbledore groaned.

"Professor Dumbledore! You're ok!"

"I feel ok…what happened? Are you ok?" he whispered through a sore throat.

"I'm fine. But I was hoping you could tell me what happened, Professor."

"What-" cough "-happened to Voldemort?"

Harry paused, his face twisting in worry, and bit his lip. "He's…well, he's here." Harry pointed to the baby.

He had been expecting some sort of reaction. Astonishment, at least. But Dumbledore just turned his head carefully to look at the baby next to him, who gurgled.

"Ah. So your spell took the years from him as well as the evil. Understandable."

"What?! You mean this was expected? What didn't you warn me?" Harry cried, plopping down on the Headmaster's bed.

"Not exactly expected, but-" cough "-explainable."

Harry decided he could just ask Hermione later. "Well, what am I going to do with him now? I can't kill a baby! I didn't even want to kill an adult!"

"I guess you'll have to raise him." Dumbledore's eyes drifted closed again, and the wrinkle in his scarred forehead smoothed.

Harry stopped moving. He was still before, listening, but even that kind of stillness had little fidgets and muscle twitches. Maybe his hands were twisting in his lap, or his eyes flicking between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

They weren't now. Now, he was still like a muggle photograph, or a man who'd just been told some surprising news.

Horrifying, astonishing news.

_Raise_ Voldemort? Like…as his _son_, or something? Impossible.

Harry wondered if Dumbledore had gotten brain damage from the hex, and cast a quick spell to check. Satisfied that his mind was functioning as well as ever, Harry had to think about this.

No way Dumbledore actually thought he should do this.

But…apparently he did.

Harry thought.

If he sent Voldemort back to an orphanage, this would just happen again in 50 years or so. He'd already established that killing him was not an option, and he wasn't so cruel as to send a baby to Azkaban.

So what to do?

Obviously someone had to raise him, and Harry was pretty sure they still couldn't trust some people not to raise him to be a Dark Lord again. And he was almost positive they couldn't trust the majority of the wizarding world not to kill him in his sleep.

Harry wasn't sure whether he wanted that or not, but he was pretty sure he didn't.

Oddly enough, his head was whirring with plans instead of freaking out. He didn't want to call a little baby 'Voldemort', and 'Tom Riddle' didn't work out real well the first time. So he had to come up with a good name. And he still had the whole school year before graduation, so he'd have to take care of the most evil newborn ever born at Hogwarts.

Well, as long as his classmates didn't kill Tommy.

Tommy. That'd work. He'd call him Tommy. He could go by Tom or Thomas as he got older, or maybe keep Tommy. Whatever he wanted, as long as it wasn't Voldemort.

Harry chewed his lip, picked up Tommy absently, and walked slowly through the Hospital Wing, looking for Hermione or Ron. Or any of his friends, really. All the beds seemed to be filled with Aurors and staff. He might even be happy to see Malfoy, right now.

The first person he found was Ginny. She was more or less ok, much better than Dumbledore had been. She was awake , though her eyes were closed, and coherent, just covered in cuts and scrapes with a broken arm. Harry again sat Tommy on the bed beside her and started healing the cuts. Remembering Lockheart and the Skelegrow incident, he decided against doing anything with her arm.

Her eyes popped open at the feeling of magic sliding through her skin, and she cried, "Harry! You're ok!"

He grinned, "Yup. No more Voldemort, either." He chose not to mention that Tommy Potter was lying next to her, knowing that would be kind of shocking, and she needed to heal.

Her smile grew. "Oh, congratulations, Harry! You can be normal now!"

Harry almost laughed and said she was crazy, but remembered she didn't know about Tommy yet.

Then Tommy rolled over a bit and jostled her broken arm.

"Ow!" she cried, "That hur-…Harry, why is there a baby next to me?"

She just looked at him, eyebrows raised, and a hint of something sad in her eyes. Harry guessed it was pain from her arm.

"That's…um…I'd tell you to sit down, but you already are…so just get ready for a shock, ok?"

Ginny nodded.

"That's-" he leaned in closer, "Voldemort. Or, well, now he's Tommy Potter."

Ginny lost consciousness, and he didn't think it was because of the pain. He turned to the baby, "Well, that went well, didn't it?"

Tommy's face turned red and he screwed up his face like he was going to cry. Then he reached his arms up to Harry. Harry sighed.

He picked up the baby, who sighed happily and nestled deep into Harry robes.

How on earth was this Voldemort, the evil inhuman being who'd killed his parents?

Stupid spell.

Ginny started stirring, and Harry leaned over her worriedly.

"Harry?" she said quietly, "I had this insane dream baby Voldemort was laying next to me."

Harry bit his lip. "Well don't worry, Gin, he's not there anymore."

She smiled.

"He wanted me to hold him, so I did."

Ginny moaned. "You mean it wasn't a dream?"

He smiled wryly. "Nope. I wish it was."

"So what're you going to do with him?"

"Well, Dumbledore thinks I should raise him."

She blinked. "That was funny. I could have sworn you thought Dumbledore wanted you to raise him."

"That's what he said," Harry said with a grimace.

"What!?" she burst out, "Honestly, even the Headmaster isn't that mad! He's Voldemort! And why should _you_ raise him? You're sworn enemies!"

"I know. When he wakes up, hopefully he'll see sense. But I don't want to kill a baby, and we don't want any Death Eaters to raise him. You can imagine how that would end."

Ginny paled. "Well of course you shouldn't kill him! He's only a baby! And you're right about the Death Eaters, but what about an orphanage? Or…there are plenty of other families who could take him in."

"An orphanage is where he grew to be who he was, Ginny. I don't think we should try that again. And any other family would probably kill him for things he did when he was older."

Ginny wished she could tell Harry to just let them, but he was only a baby. And a cute baby.

Stupid cute, murderous, adorable infant.

"Alright, so you're the only one we can trust with him. How are you going to do this? You're still a student. You can't raise a baby at Hogwarts!"

Harry's face sank into a deep worry, "I don't know! I just…I don't have a clue! I…" Harry groaned. "I think I liked him better when he wanted to kill me."

Ginny smiled. "Oh, come on Harry. You know that's not true."

He sighed. "Yeah, you're right. But still."

"Well, Dumbledore could hardly be cruel enough to make you take care of little Tommy and then not make special arrangements for school."

"I guess not."

"Look, Harry, it'll be ok. I'll help you."

Harry looked at her in horror. "No, Ginny, you don't have to do that! I know what Tom Riddle did to you! I couldn't ask you to take care of his younger self! Thanks for offering, though. It means a lot."

"Harry, you realize you're being a bit hypocritical? Voldemort did more to you than Tom Riddle did to me."

"Well, but I'm…" Harry couldn't think of a way to end that sentence so it didn't sound like he thought he was better than Ginny.

"So it's settled. You won't do this alone." Ginny wondered what she was getting into. "Now…how on earth did this happen?"

"Well, you know the spell Hermione fixed?"

"Yeah."

"It didn't make him less evil. It made him tiny."

Ginny thought for a minute. "Well, they do say babies are the most innocent creatures on earth."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense."

"You bet it does. And at least he's not the product of your lonely summers in Surrey."

"Gin! Ew! That's kinda gross, you know."

Ginny laughed.

Harry smiled and shook his head. "Alright, Gin. I'm escaping your nonsense. I'll be back in a minute or so. I want to explain to the others before they hear it from somewhere else."

Ginny smiled back. "Ok. And you might want to ask Madame Pomfrey to do a check up on Tommy, to make sure he's healthy and all."

"Good idea. Can't have him being sick in all forms of the word."

"Harry! He's only a baby!

Harry laughed and walked away.


	4. Chapter 3: Ron and Hermione

Chapter Three

Harry decided one fainting spell was enough for one day, and that he wouldn't tell anyone else about Tommy unless they asked. He hoped they wouldn't ask.

Tommy was still being creepily adorable, with his tiny little evil pinky finger stuck in his tiny little evil mouth. Why did the tiny little evil torturer/murderer have to look so sweet and vulnerable?

Harry found Hermione next. She looked awful, pale and with most of her blood in a pool around her instead of in her body. However, she was awake and looking around at the healing process, a fascinated expression on her face. Harry suspected that she'd be taking notes if she had enough strength to hold a quill.

Harry sighed, shoved Tommy into her arms, and started healing the deeper gashes. He poured a blood replenishing potion down her throat, and cursed when he found the cloud of dark red centered around her neck. "Hermione, when the healers come, be sure and mention that you have a curse that'll strangle you next time you use magic unless it's removed, ok?"

She looked up from her intent study of the baby in her arms and saw him. "Harry! You're ok!"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Hermione? Curse? No spells until someone removes it?"

She nodded impatiently, then held up Tommy, looking at Harry disapprovingly. "Harry? Who's this?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A baby," Harry said briskly. "Now put him down and hold still while I take care of all this blood."

Hermione grumbled but obeyed, examining Tommy carefully while Harry worked. "He looks really young," she murmured. "Like _really_ young. Like he was born during the battle." Then she glanced at Harry. "He looks like _you_. Why didn't you tell me? Who is she, anyway?"

"She?" Harry asked.

"His mother!"

"Oh, someone named Merope Gaunt who died when he was born," Harry said absently.

Hermione fumed. "You don't even care? But she…but you…that's your…for Merlin's sake, Harry!" she sputtered.

Harry paused for a minute, then his eyes went wide. "What? You actually think…Ginny was joking! No, this is…" He stopped and sighed, seeing a healer coming their way. "Look. Mention the curse. I can't tell you in front of someone else, but I'll explain everything to you and Ron later."

Hermione slowly nodded, then gasped, "So Ron's alright? You've seen him? He's…ok?"

Harry hid a smile. "No. I'm sorry. But I'm sure he's fine. He's a good wizard, Hermione. He can defend himself. I'm gonna go find him right now."

Hermione nodded, but her eyes were worried. Then the healer came over, and Hermione brightened, immediately starting in on questions.

Harry shook his head in amusement, and went looking for Ron.

He saw Luna and Neville, both in dubious states of health, and Malfoy, who had an obscene amount of curses centered all over his body. Harry lifted a few of the more pressing ones as he passed, but didn't stop.

There was the Hufflepuff who'd sacrificed herself for her friend, a white sheet drawn up over her face.

He saw Kingsley, who was missing an arm and bleeding rather profusely from a cut on his chest. There were healers crowding around, so Harry kept going.

There was Flitwick, with another white sheet.

Snape was also cursed rather profusely, and still shaking from the many Cruciatus' the Death Eaters had cast when they learned he was fighting against them. Harry wavered for just a moment, before making a face and getting a potion for the after affects. He didn't think Snape even noticed who was giving it to him. After the sweat soaked man had swallowed it and fallen asleep from the bit of potion Harry had added, he set to work on the curses.

After a few minutes, a girl maybe a year or so behind him in Hufflepuff bustled over, telling him to go rest and that she'd take care of the Professor. He told her that Snape was covered in curses, and that it'd be better if she let him handle it. Then, before the slightly terrified girl left, he said, "Wait, actually, could you do a quick check on V-um, him?" He held out Tommy.

"Sure," she murmured quietly.

By the time Harry had done all he could, the girl was almost finished. There were some curses Snape would just have to live with, since they couldn't be removed, and a few Harry thought the man should suffer anyway, like the one that would give him splitting headaches whenever he got annoyed. He thought it might help improve his disposition a bit.

"Well, he seems to be fine," the girl said. "He's a bit traumatized, I'd imagine, and you'll want to feed him soon, but overall he's a perfectly healthy few hour old baby."

Harry nodded gratefully. At least Tommy wasn't suffering from any after effects of the curse, nor were any of the things he'd done to himself as an adult still plaguing him.

"Thanks...um, what did you say your name was?"

"I'm Seri," she said quietly, handing Tommy back slightly reluctantly.

"I'm Harry," he answered, though he thought she probably knew anyway. "I haven't seen you around here much. What year are you in?"

She smiled shyly. "I'm a fifth year. I do mostly keep to myself," she said, "I'm sorry, but I need to get going. There are plenty of other injuries to be taken care of."

He nodded, remembering his mission before being sidetracked by Snape.

"Hey, before you go, have you seen Ron Weasley in here?"

She swallowed, "Um, well, Ron is…he's over there, but…he's not doing well."

"Um…are you ok?"

"Harry?"

"What are you…no! Don't collapse, that won't help anything…here give him to me, and sit down there."

Seri's voice started to penetrate the fog around Harry.

"Huh?" he mumbled.

"Here, just relax. Ron might very well be fine, he's just…um…. Look. You can't help him by falling over."

"Ron…what's wrong with him?" Harry asked desperately, not hearing her.

"He's…he's just passed out, and the healers don't really know what's wrong with him. He…they can explain it better."

"Ok." Harry stood up, took Tommy back, and followed her through the maze of beds, still in a haze.

"Harry Potter would like to see his friend," Seri whispered when they arrived at a bed with healers clustered around.

There were gasps. "Harry Potter?"

"Yes, I'm bloody Harry Potter, and I want to see Ron!" Harry snapped.

They moved aside reverently, and Seri took Tommy to let Harry visit his friend in peace. She left briefly to get a bottle, and set to feeding Tommy, as he hadn't eaten since being born, as far as she knew.

"Ron?" Harry asked in horror. The boy before him had the same red hair, but it wasn't quite as vibrant looking. His skin was pale and waxy, so different from the red eared boy of the train ride that morning. His eyes were closed, breathing ragged.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry demanded.

"He was very brave, Mr. Potter. He took down eight Death Eaters, you know."

"Was? You say it like…like he's…" Harry couldn't say the word.

"He might wake up, but we can't make any promises," one healer told him.

"Then don't! Just help him, and, and tell me what's wrong with him!"

A few of the healers detached themselves from the mob to start working again, but the rest seemed too awestruck to do much.

The one who'd spoken before stayed. "We found him on the battlefield, Mr. Potter. He was unconscious already, and hasn't woken yet."

Harry digested this.

"We aren't sure what's wrong with him yet, but we will do everything in our power to help, sir."

Harry didn't even register what he'd just been called.

"I have to…go tell…Hermione…and Ginny." he said slowly. "But we'll be back soon."

The healer nodded.

Harry found Hermione sitting on Ginny's bed, seemingly all healed. Ginny's arm was in a cast and sling, as the healers had to save most of their strength for the more severely injured.

They looked up when they saw him, and gasped at the look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"Is it Ron?" Hermione demanded breathlessly.

"Ron? What's wrong with him?" Ginny cried.

"Guys! Stop for…just a minute."

They quieted.

"He's…he's not…" Harry's face was kind of strange, now that Ginny thought about it.

"He's not, you know…" Hermione's voice was high pitched, and she choked on the word none of them wanted to hear.

"No…he's…come with me." Hermione stood up immediately, though Harry had to help Ginny. The cast messed with her balance more than a bit.

They followed him back towards Ron's bed, and found a scene different from the one Harry had left. There were no healers gathered around a bed in which an unconscious Ron lay. Now the red haired boy was alone, and Hermione almost fainted from relief at seeing his chest rise and fall.

Normally, Harry and Ginny might have teased Hermione a bit, asking if maybe she really did like Ron, just a little bit, and then laugh inwardly when she blushed and mumbled 'no'. They never believed her.

But now, they were too worries about Ron to think anything but, _You better wake up soon, or Hermione'll go crazy. _

Privately, Harry thought she might not be the only one.

A/N- ok, this is kind of a boring chapter, but I'm getting bored of the aftermath, and just want to GET ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY! Anyway, yes, Seri is back. She'll be popping up from time to time, probably in all my stories, but this isn't associated with Lucky or Moonlight Cub. I just like her character.


	5. Chapter 4: Diapers and Dobby

A/N- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know it took me forever! I'm SO sorry, really I am. Things sorta got…out of hand. Not that that's an excuse. Anyway, after this chapter, I think I'll focus on No Longer for a while. It seems to have a slightly larger fan base, and I know it has more inspiration. Though I'm at a loss of whether to incorporate Snupin, or stick with Leeanna/Remus. What do you think?

Ok, I'm getting really tired of the Hospital Wing. So let's leave, shall we?

Chapter Four

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny sat at Ron's bedside for a while. They'll never know just how long, because grief and fear are timeless. Finally a Healer came over and tried to shoo them out.

Hermione stood up, eyes blazing, cheeks tearstained, fingers twitching. "We are not going anywhere. Ron is our friend. Leave us alone," she growled each word individually.

The Healer took a step back. Harry couldn't blame her. Hermione could be right scary sometimes.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask at least one of you to go. You're crowding this area, and we can't help him with you in the way." The Healer was young. She looked like she wasn't used to this sort of thing yet, and like she was terrified of the young woman she was supposed to make leave.

One look at Hermione and Ginny told Harry just who would be leaving. Also, he realized Tommy was crying, and he hadn't noticed until just then. With a sigh, he said, "I'll go, guys. Keep and eye on him, ok?"

Hermione just sat back down, but Ginny nodded at Harry with a soft smile. He nodded back and absently rubbed Tommy's shoulder. Tommy stopped screaming, and just whimpered every once in a while as Harry navigated back through the maze of beds.

Harry breathed a sigh and wandered down the hallway, thinking he'd go back to the dormitory to tell the others about Ron. The halls were empty, and the portraits were vacant. Even the Fat Lady was gone. Luckily, though, the entrance was open.

There was no one in the common room, and the fire wasn't lit. Harry hurried through the sad space, trying not to jolt the baby in his arms too much as he stomped up the stairs. It didn't really work, and Tommy started screaming again. Harry sighed, wondering if he really wanted to do this for the next eighteen years. Maybe more. Maybe less, if he got fed up enough to kill him like he was supposed to.

Tommy, however, may have been unhappy with the stairs, but he didn't seem to like the look Harry was giving him any better. He sniffled, and nestled further down in the voluminous robes, that, now that Harry thought about it, probably weren't very sanitary. He also quieted, and Harry sighed again.

He wondered if this would seem better when he wasn't so stressed about Ron and after a good night's sleep.

He wondered if he'd be getting a good night's sleep any time soon.

Suddenly, Tommy went still. Harry stopped at the top of the stairs, wondering what was going on, and if he should maybe call someone. Then Tommy relaxed, whimpered once, and a horrible smell drifted from the robes.

It took a second for Harry to register what just happened, but when he did, he wrinkled his nose in horror.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. I am not changing Voldemort's diaper." He spent a moment's luxury thinking about how he never, _ever_, thought he'd have to say that. Then the object of his thoughts gurgled proudly, and Harry's shoulders slumped. He couldn't let the child just sit in his dirty diaper. Come to think of it, was he even wearing a diaper?

Harry checked. He grimaced. Nope.

With a sigh, Harry went the rest of the way into the dormitory. It was empty, and he supposed that made sense. Everyone was in the Hospital Wing, either being treated or helping to treat the others. Except him. No, _he_ had to be changing the diaper of the little demon who started all this. Stupid spell.

Tommy looked up at him, and Harry grimaced again as the bottom lip quivered. He sighed. "Dobby?" he called quietly.

There was a pop, and a slightly harassed looking House Elf appeared on Dean's bed.

"Yes, Harry Potter?" Dobby squeaked, "You is wishing for Dobby to do something?"

"Dobby?" Harry gasped, "Are you alright?"

Dobby nodded. "Dobby is being fine, Mr. Harry Potter, sir. House Elves are just having lots to do tonight. What was you wishing for Dobby to be doing for you?"

"Could you bring me a clean diaper, and…anything else I would need to change one? And perhaps a bottle? If you aren't too busy?"

Dobby stood up straight with an obscenely large smile. "Dobby is never too busy for Mr. Harry Potter! Dobby will be getting that for you right away, sir!"

"Thanks, Dobby. I really appreciate it."

The House Elf vanished.

Harry set Tommy down on the bed.

He glanced around the room slowly. Empty. He supposed it was to be expected, as it was the first day of school, so there weren't even trunks or clothes strewn everywhere. Still, it looked strange. Foreign.

Harry sighed.

What was he to do? This was too…this was foreign too.

Maybe he should just tell Dumbledore he couldn't do it. Give Tommy to McGonagall, or Flitwick. Trelawney, for all he cared. Hagrid, maybe. Hagrid did like monsters, after all. Anyone, just not him.

Dobby popped back in, holding a basket. "Here are the things you are wanting, Mr. Harry Potter, sir!" he cried, holding them out to Harry. "Is there being anything else you is wishing Dobby to do, Mr. Harry Potter, sir?"

"No, Dobby. Thanks. I really appreciate it, I know you must be busy tonight," Harry said, picking up Tommy from the bed.

"No, no, Mr. Harry Potter! Dobby is never too busy for Mr. Harry Potter!" Tears seemed imminent, and Harry wasn't entirely sure he could deal with that.

"I know you're not, Dobby, thank you." Harry paused. "Actually…do you know how to change a diaper?"

The house elf brightened immediately. "Yes, Mr. Harry Potter, sir! Dobby is used to taking care of the young Master Draco. Young Master Draco was being a difficult child," he admitted, then his eyes went wide, and he lunged for something, presumably to punish himself with.

"No! Dobby, stop that, or I'll have to drop Tommy and stop you myself!"

Dobby seemed to struggle for a moment, but then he got a hold of himself and calmed. "Dobby is being sorry, Mr. Harry Potter, sir. It is still being hard to betray Dobby's masters."

"I understand, Dobby, but you have to stop doing that." Harry seemed to have a thought. "Dobby, am I allowed to give you orders?"

"The only orders Dobby is being forced to follow are being the Headmaster Dumbledore, sir's orders. But Dobby will always obey Mr. Harry Potter, oh yes he will! Mr. Harry Potter saved Dobby from the Malfoys, and for that, Dobby will always be grateful to Mr. Harry Potter!"

Harry took a moment to think that through. All the 'sir's and 'being's confused him a little bit. "In that case, Dobby, I forbid you to hurt yourself."

The house elf's ears drooped, but he smiled. "What was you wanting Dobby to do, sir?"

"I was hoping you could help me with Tommy here. I…don't really know what I'm doing," Harry admitted.

"Mr. Harry Potter is having a baby!" Dobby exclaimed, only just noticing Tommy. "Where is Mr. Harry Potter getting the baby? What is being its name? Will Mr. Harry Potter be keeping it during schooltime?"

"His name is being, I mean, his name's Tommy," Harry said, shaking his head. "I ended up with the bloody monster because of dumb Dumbledore and oh so brilliant Hermione." He muttered incomprehensively for a moment. "And I have no clue what to do with him."

Dobby sniffed. "Well, Mr. Harry Potter, Dobby is thinking Master Tommy is needing to be changed. Perhaps Master Harry should be setting Master Tommy on the bed sos Dobby can show him how?"

Harry debated for a moment before putting Tommy on his comforter. He didn't think the others would be very happy to learn that he'd changed Voldemort's diaper on their bed.

If they were even still bloody _alive. _

"Master Harry Potter! Master Tommy can't be held like that, sir! Master Tommy's head must be supported, sir!" Dobby exclaimed, appalled.

Harry looked awkward. "Um…"

"Here, Master Harry Potter." Dobby laid Tommy properly on the bed.

Harry hesitated, then stepped forward and reached out to remove Tommy's diaper.

"Mr. Harry Potter, sir, wait, you shouldn't-" Dobby cried, but was interrupted by a stream of liquid spurting from the baby and flying across the dorm to pool on Dean's bed.

"Ug!" Harry yelled. "That's…ew!"

"That's why Master Harry Potter should be careful when changing a baby, and be ready to put the new diaper on before taking the old one off," Dobby scolded.

Harry just made a face. "I'm going to murder Dumbledore."

A/N- Again, I'm so sorry, please don't kill me! I'll try to step up the pace with the next chapter, but I', afraid I can't make any promises. If you're reading this, thanks for sticking with me.

Also, I have to admit again that I know very little about babies and my…research…isn't progressing very quickly. However, I tried to write that last scene from a story my mom told me about when my brother was little…and later there'll be more little incidents….

And next chapter, you get to learn who died! Woot!

Won't that be joyous.


	6. Chapter 5: Meeting Leeanna

A/N- Uh…yeah. I got sick. And I sort of almost died. But I didn't. I lost all interest in anything for a while, though, so then I took a break to get the rest of my life in order, but Leeanna wouldn't stop pestering me in Algebra II, so…here. Plus, Spring Break is coming up, and I don't want to promise anything, but endless hours in the car with my brother sounds like prime writing time.

Also, I've decided that both my stories are going to be Leeanna/Remus. But I'm writing a Snupin based off something my friend completely misunderstood. You know who you are. xD _"I have to pee…"_ *raises eyebrows* Good times.

Chapter Five

_Ron isn't improving_. That was the first thing Ginny said when she stopped by the next morning. Then, of course, Voldemort woke up and started up a horrible siren sound that Ginny, apparently, couldn't bear. She lifted him gently out of the cradle Dobby had found for him, and held him far more expertly than any youngest daughter of seven should be able to manage. Harry just watched with bleary eyes as the baby quieted in her arms and stuck his thumb in his mouth while leaning his evil little head on her innocent shoulder.

The monster had woken him up three times during the night demanding to be fed or changed or held or _something_, and Harry started to regret that stupid curse. At least big Voldemort usually only woke him up once a night with nightmares.

Speaking of which, he had to admit that once, he'd woken up the baby, when he bolted upright in bed, screaming, from a dream of red eyed infants forcing black haired teenagers to carry them around while they murdered people with tiny wands.

"Hard to believe what he used to be, huh?" Ginny asked quietly.

Harry stared at her. "No. He's a vile, evil, smelly, loud little creature to replace a vile, evil, murdering, ugly big creature. He kept me up all bloody night, and I _am going to kill Dumbledore_!"

"Oh, come on, Harry, he's not that bad," Ginny cooed. "Are you? No, you're not."

Harry realized with a start that the last bit had been directed at the miniature beast.

"Ginny! He bloody well _possessed_ you!" Harry cried.

"He's just a baby, Harry. _He_ didn't do anything."

"Yet."

"And maybe he never will, if you don't let him grow up believing that's all he can ever become."

Harry was quiet for a moment. "Do you really think I would?" he asked softly.

Ginny sighed, shifting the tiny devil to her other arm. "No. No, not really. And trust me Harry, I know why this is a big deal to you. You thought you were getting rid of him for good, and that you could have a normal life once he was gone, and that things would be better. But you end up with a baby that's not even yours, and you ask why it has to be _you, _you who's lost so much to him already, why do you have to give up all your dreams and how can anyone think you're the right person to be his dad, since thanks to him you've never had one. And you wonder how you can ever love him the way a parent is supposed to."

Harry thought for a moment and decided that just the first few were on his mind to begin with, but that he would have come up with the others in time. "I guess since he's dictated my life for the last 16 years, he might as well keep it up," he whispered. Ginny wondered briefly whether he was talking about Voldemort or Dumbledore.

Suddenly the newborn personification of evil decided that poor Ginny was expending too much energy on comforting Harry and not enough on him, and started crying again, successfully directing her attention back to rubbing his incredibly tiny evil back and letting his impossibly small vile hand clutch her finger.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" she asked, "You can't keep calling him Voldemort."

Harry decided that would be a bad time to mention that he'd been calling him 'the reincarnation of the devil' in his head. "Er…I was thinking I'd just call him Tommy. Like his given name, but less creepy."

Ginny smiled. "'Tom Riddle' was never a decent name for a baby anyway. And seriously, who came up with his middle name? 'Marvolo'? No wonder he was a maniac."

Harry stifled a laugh. It wasn't funny, it wasn't. "It was his grandfather's name. But don't ask why his mom wanted him to be called that, he was horrible to her."

"Mm," Ginny agreed absently. "Well, on a slightly different note, how does it feel to not have a Dark Lord after you?"

Harry sighed, "Good. But it'd be better if he weren't in the room. Or maybe if he wasn't going to be around for the next eleven years until he goes to Hogwarts."

Ginny looked at Harry, then at Tommy, who'd gone back to sleep. "Look, if you're going to hate it that much, you should go talk to Dumbledore. You've given enough 'to the cause' already."

"Dumbledore made it quite clear that there was no one else. But maybe we could go see him anyway. Maybe he's thought of someone else's life to meddle in." Harry's face brightened. That spark of hope was enough to drag him out of bed and through the shower while Ginny fed Tommy _again. _

He let her carry Tommy down to the Hospital Wing. Somewhere in the back of his head, he wondered if all new parents felt like that, or if he was just a weird case. Or maybe Voldemort was just giving off evil vibes that made him unable to look at him.

Outside the common room, Harry ran directly into a young woman with long brown hair, mussed blue robes, and frantic eyes. "Remus! Is Remus in there? Have you seen him? James? James, is that you? Where is he?"

"Remus? He's…um, probably down in the Hospital Wing," Harry said. He was still stuck on the part where she called him James.

"Oh, thank Merlin! Is he ok? What's he doing in the Hospital Wing? He just…when I got that message! He…he tried to say good-bye! Something about a battle? I'm…Oh , Merlin, I'm going to murder him for scaring me like that. What's going on?" She seemed kind of desperate. Breathing ragged, nearly sobs, her hand clutching her chest, chin quivering.

Ginny watched her with interest, Tommy having gone back to sleep to the lullaby of another's distress. Figures. "I'm, sorry, but who are you? How do you know Professor Lupin?"

The woman whipped her head around. She gasped, and Harry thought for a moment she might cry. "You're…no, you're not. I thought you were…and you…you're both too young. But you…you look so much like…. I'm sorry. I'm Leeanna DeLune, and I'm afraid I mistook you for my friends. Do you know where I might find James and Lily Potter?"

At this, Harry was the one to stop and gasp, and Ginny nearly dropped Tommy. Harry didn't exactly dive to catch him, but he remained safe. "You…you knew my parents?" Harry asked, his quiet voice loud in the suddenly silent corridor.

The brown haired woman called Leeanna paused, and turned to look at him, eyes wide. "Ha-Harry? Has it really…my goodness, I'd no idea it'd been so long since I left. Remus is going to be upset, and I daresay Lily will have some words for me. Your mother. Merlin, you were barely a year old last time I saw you. You really do look remarkably like James. We all thought you'd grow up to look like Lily, but we were all bollocks at Divination, anyway. Is everyone in the Hospital Wing?"

"Um…" Harry started.

"No matter, I'll just run ahead and look, that's one place I could find in the dark! No doubt I'll see you later, Harry!" she called after her as she sprinted off down the hall.

Harry and Ginny were left standing there, mouths slightly open. "Do you think we should have told her?" Ginny asked.

"No," Harry said, "No, it's probably better she hear it when she's a little calmer. She seemed about ready to have a nervous breakdown."

Ginny nodded. "I wonder how she knew your parents and Professor Lupin? She seemed really worried about him."

Harry almost grinned. "Maybe they've been secretly dating and he wants to get married now that the war's over."

Ginny did grin. "I hope so! He deserves some happiness!"

Harry's smile faltered a little, but he said nothing. He'd been feeling a bit guilty for not thinking about Remus before, but now he was just a tad jealous that it looked like someone was getting a happy ending, and it wasn't him. He sighed. Remus did deserve to be happy.

It just made him wonder why he didn't.

"Remus Lupin!" a nearly heartrending, screeching sob echoed down the corner. "How could you, how could you, how could…" the scream faded until the two children and the baby could no longer make it out, but Tommy woke up and started crying, much to Harry's surprise. They were nearing the room filled with the dead and dying he had caused, why wasn't he pleased?

Some part of Harry knew he was being unreasonable and bitter and placing blame on innocent shoulders, but it was the quiet little part that wanted him to do homework and start thinking about what he wanted to do with his life, so he was used to ignoring it.

They walked through the heavy doors, thrown open for once, into the bustling ward. There were still students rushing around with basins of blood and bandages, only now they had dark circles under their eyes. Harry suddenly felt guilty for the few hours of sleep Tommy had allowed him. Over in a corner, in the bed Remus usually used after full moons, was a heaving mass of blue robes and brown hair, where the woman from the hall was holding Remus so tightly she seemed to be trying to suffocate him.

Harry and Ginny wandered over to their friend and the stranger, carefully navigating around the healers and assistants. Remus was murmuring quietly, "It's alright, it's ok, I'm fine, you're fine, it'll be alright, shh, shh, calm down Lee, shh." As they approached, her sobs softened. Finally, she stood up and hit his arm, not hard, but plenty enough to hurt a man still healing from what looked like the entire Hogwarts library being thrown at him.

"How could you, Remus? Just a Patronous? Not letting me say anything? Just 'good-bye'? What…I've been trying to get to you all night! They've put up anti-apparation barriers and the Floo is out and portkeys have to be authorized, so I had to take muggle transportation, and you know how much I hate boats, but even that was blocked up, so I just apparated the second the barriers were gone! Left all my stuff on the dock. You'd better have a good explanation!" There were still tears streaming down her face, but she seemed less distraught.

"Leeanna," Remus said, "Sit down and let's talk about that later. I can see it'll need more explanation. Have you met Harry and Ginny?"

"Yes, I ran into them on my way here. I'm afraid I mistook them for Lily and James. Where are they, anyway?"

Remus turned pale and started coughing horribly. "Remus? Remus! Are you ok? Don't even think about it! I did not come all the way over from France just to watch you die!"

"Is that where you've been all these years?" Remus rasped, deciding to leave the question of dead friends for later.

"France, Italy, Egypt, Romania, Andorra, China, America, Brazil, and the Yukon. Everywhere I could think of that had a significant wizarding population. France was the best, though. I've lived there for going on six years now. And you! I haven't had any luck finding you, even back when I still looked! Where have you been?"

"A lot of the same places as you. We must have missed each other. I skipped the Yukon, though. Never liked the cold. And I never learned Romanian, which made my stay there short."

Ginny finally piped up, shoving Tommy into Harry's displeased arms. "Were you friends? Did you go to school together? I'm sorry, Ms. DeLune, but I've never heard Remus mention you."

"Repressed memories, I'm afraid, Miss Weasley. There is much about that time I didn't speak of. Yes, we went to school together. Leeanna was a Hufflepuff in the same year as myself and the others. She kept a prank quiet once, and we started asking her for advice after that." With a grin, he added, "That face is usually serious, but it hides a mischievous core."

"We became friendly acquaintances in our third year," Leeanna's quiet voice picked up. "And in our fifth we became closer."

"Leeanna left just a few months before, um…about a year after you were born, Harry. And I haven't spoken to her since."

"Until that horrible Patronus! If you think I'm letting you out of my sight after that, you're very much mistaken! No, I'm sticking around until I'm sure you're not going anywhere!"

Harry thought that was odd. Leave for 16 years, come back to make sure someone was ok, then leave again when you knew they were going to stay where they were.

"And besides, I haven't seen James, Lily, and Severus yet. And what about Sirius and Peter? Did Sirius ever become an Auror? Did Peter finally publish those poems? Did Severus ever get married? I always thought he was holding out for Lily, but after she married James, he could have found someone. That Amber Laurence from Ravenclaw? She fancied him, even if she was rather obsessed with muggle board games."

Remus looked at her oddly. "Leeanna, are you alright? You didn't used to talk so much."

She let out a ragged breath. "To be honest, I still haven't quite gotten over the relief at you being ok. And I had a lot of coffee and chocolate while I was waiting for the ferry, so I'm not really in my right mind. Really, please ignore me," she directed the last at Harry and Ginny. "I'm just so glad you're alright. Merlin!"

She sat down hard on the edge of his bed, and took his hand. Harry didn't know whether it was to comfort her or Remus. Maybe both.

Suddenly, Hermione came running over, frantic and excited. "Harry! Ginny! It's Ron! He woke up!"


End file.
